The Man-Machine
| The Man-Machine | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Kraftwerk | ||||
| Released | May 1978 | |||
| Recorded | 1977–1978 at Kling Klang Studio, Düsseldorf, Germany | |||
| Genre | Electronic music, synthpop | |||
| Length | 36:18 | |||
| Label |
Kling Klang EMI Capitol | |||
| Producer |
Ralf Hütter Florian Schneider | |||
| Kraftwerk chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Man-Machine | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | B+[2] |
| Q |  [3] |
| Uncut | [4] |
| Mojo | [5] |
| Drowned in Sound | [6] |
The Man·Machine (German Language Edition: Die Mensch·Maschine) is the seventh studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released in May 1978. It contains the song "The Model".
Upon its release, NME stated: "The Man Machine stands as one of the pinnacles of 70's rock music."[7] The album initially sold fairly poorly in the UK, but peaked at number 9 in the UK albums chart when re-promoted in 1982, the second highest position the band has achieved in the UK.[8]
Album information
This was the first Kraftwerk album to see Karl Bartos co-credited with songwriting along with Hütter & Schneider. Emil Schult co-wrote the lyrics for "The Model".
Release
It peaked at number 9 in the UK albums chart.[9]
A remastered edition of the album was released by EMI Records, Mute Records and Astralwerks Records on CD and digital download in October/November 2009, with heavyweight vinyl editions released in November/December 2009.
Reception
NME wrote a glowing review and said: "Kraftwerk manage to convey the entire 'melange of elements' by musical means alone: the sparsity of the lyrics leaves the emphasis squarely on those robot rhythms; chilling tones and exquisite melodies." Critic Andy Gill also praised the "complexity of construction", saying "there's a lot more than electronic percussion in there".[7]
Charts
| United Kingdom (Official Charts Company)[8] | 9 |
| United States (Billboard Top LPs & Tapes)[10] | 130 |
Track listing
All songs by Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider and Karl Bartos, except where noted.
- Side one
- "The Robots" ("Die Roboter") – 6:11
- "Spacelab" (Ralf Hütter, Karl Bartos) – 5:51
- "Metropolis" – 5:59
- Side two
- "The Model" ("Das Modell") (Ralf Hütter, Karl Bartos, Emil Schult) – 3:38
- "Neon Lights" ("Neonlicht") – 9:03
- "The Man-Machine" ("Die Mensch-Maschine") – 5:28
Personnel
- Ralf Hütter – voice, vocoder, synthesizer, keyboards, orchestron, synthanorma sequenzer, electronics, cover (i.e. art direction)
- Florian Schneider – vocoder, votrax, synthesizer, electronics, Prophet 5, Prophet 10, Yamaha CS-80, minimoog in "The Robots"
- Karl Bartos – electronic drums
- Wolfgang Flür – electronic drums
- Leanard Jackson – sound engineer mixing & mastering
- Joschko Rudas – sound engineer (Studio Rudas, Düsseldorf)
- Henning Schmitz – assistant sound engineer
- Karl Klefisch – typography ("lettering")
- Günther Fröhling – photography
- Johann Zambryski – artwork reconstruction (2009 remaster)
References
- ↑ Allmusic review
- ↑ Christgau, Robert (September 4, 1978). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice (New York). Retrieved April 29, 2013.
- ↑ Q review
- ↑ Cavanagh, David. "Uncut Reviews: Kraftwerk - Reissues". Uncut. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
- ↑ Snow, Mat (November 2009). "Gut Vibrations". Mojo (London: Bauer Media Group) (192): 110. ISSN 1351-0193.
- ↑ Drowned in Sound review
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Gill, Andy. "Mind Machine Music". NME. 29 April 1978
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Kraftwerk". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2013-08-08.
- ↑ kraftwerk albums Official charts
- ↑ "allmusic ((( Kraftwerk > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
- ↑ The Man-Machine (Digital Remaster) (CD). Great Britain: Mute Records. 2009. CDSTUMM306.
External links
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